Mental Health

CalMatters and CatchLight are partnering on a three-year initiative to tell powerful stories about mental health in California. We’ll spotlight solutions, personal stories, investigate systems, and bring greater awareness to this historically stigmatized topic. This initiative is supported by:

Enlight Foundation
California Health Care Foundation
Flourish Impact Fund
Lisa Stone Pritzker Family Foundation
Resonance Philanthropies
Sarlo Family Foundation
Sand Hill Foundation
Stuart Foundation

Commentary

Professionals, not police, should respond to mental health crises

Assembly Bill 988 would lay the groundwork for a 988 mental health crisis hotline, creating an alternative to 911.

Guest Commentary

• March 31, 2021

Commentary

Rise in youth suicide needs joint effort from educators, health providers

More school-based health centers are needed for California students and communities under stress from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guest Commentary

• March 24, 2021

Commentary

Teenagers aren’t nearly as crazy as their elders

In real-life facts, teenagers today report more anxiety and less depression on standard tests, and display less alarming trends than adults.

Guest Commentary

• March 15, 2021

California Capitol, home of the Assembly and Senate. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Commentary

Some sober advice on homelessness

Gov. Gavin Newsom has pledged to do something about homelessness in California, but two new watchdog reports are skeptical and critical.

Dan Walters

• February 17, 2021

Commentary

Medi-Cal overhaul sounds good on paper

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to overhaul California's immense medical care system for the poor, but caution should be the byword.

Dan Walters

• February 15, 2021

An explanation of nine new California laws taking effect in 2021. Illustration by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters; iStock

California Wildfires

Nine new California laws explained — each in 1 minute

1. California widens mental health conditions insurers must cover In the past, state law only required treatment for nine serious mental illnesses. Even before the pandemic, more than half of Californians said most people with mental health conditions couldn’t get the help they needed. Some families even dropped private insurance to qualify for treatment in […]

CalMatters Staff

• December 31, 2020

Health

New law in 1 minute: California widens mental health conditions insurers must cover

If you break your leg or need heart surgery, your insurance covers it. But that hasn’t always been true for mental illness and substance use disorders. A new 2021 law in California could improve that, broadening the list of mental health conditions insurers must cover. In the past, state law only required treatment for nine […]

Nick Roberts

and

Jocelyn Wiener

• December 28, 2020

People gather near the cliffs as the sun sets in Isla Vista on Dec. 8 2020. Photo by Max Abrams for CalMatters

College Beat

To spring break or not? California colleges weigh options as pandemic worsens

Updated 12/21/20 Carlos Acosta’s fall semester at the University of Southern California was a lot more grueling than he expected — and it wasn’t just because of the Zoom classes. In an effort to minimize travel during the coronavirus pandemic, the university shortened the semester so it ended before Thanksgiving, and didn’t include any multi-day […]

Meghan Bobrowsky

Emily Forschen

and

Matthew Reagan

• December 10, 2020

A cordoned off playground in South Central LA, on Dec. 8., 2020. Photo by Tash Kimmell for CalMatters.

Coronavirus

Playgrounds stay open: State backtracks on outdoor play area ban

Amid pushback from parents and lawmakers, the state modified its strict new stay-at-home order that had closed outdoor playgrounds to slow coronavirus spread.

Elizabeth Aguilera

• December 9, 2020

Elections

Meant to clarify, BallotTrax confused some voters

Before 2020, the unassuming “I Voted” sticker was enough to satisfy most voters that their ballot had passed into trusted hands. But this past election, amid California’s plunge into mail-in voting and the Trump administration’s baseless claims of election fraud, the state offered higher-tech assurance: ballot updates sent to voters’ phone and email by BallotTrax, […]

Aaron Leathley

• December 8, 2020